There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February, so
I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities. This is just the first draft
(and the whole thing is still in the hazy planning stages in any case):

Amuse-Bouche: The PlacerGrown harvest calendar says that rhubarb is
supposed to be coming into season here in February. If that's the case, I'm
thinking about making stewed rhubarb with butternut squash as the
amuse-bouche. Otherwise it would be some other sweet-sour squash dish. This
is just a single-bite course, so it has to pack a bit of a punch.

Salad: I want to use black radishes, but the application would depend on how
woody they are. (Some are much more dry and woody than others. They're
generally more like turnips than like red radishes.) If they're woody, then
I'd make a salad with grated radish, grated carrot, chopped scallions,
chopped cucumber, and sour cream. If they're not woody, I'd make a salad
with sliced (peeled) black radish, apples, and escarole, dressed with cider
vinegar, salt, and walnut oil.

Main Dish: Chicken and dumplings sound good to me, especially if it's cold
and damp. I posted the Cook's Illustrated recipe here in 2005[1]; that's the
one I would follow. Besides the chicken and dumplings themselves, the recipe
contains celery, onions, carrots, and peas. (It's also got sherry and cream
in there, which in my estimation elevate it to the status of "company"
food.)

Side Dish: Last spring, I bought some broccoli leaves at a farmer's market,
and pickled them. Something like that would be great as a side dish, but I
haven't seen broccoli leaves for at least four months. However, I think that
kale would work equally well, so I'm tentatively planning on making
pickled/marinated kale. The pickle is made by combining cider vinegar,
sugar, salt, and water, bringing that to a boil and then pouring it (still
boiling hot) into a jar over packed kale leaves. It has to sit for a few
days before it's ready. The chicken & dumpling recipe is quite creamy and
rich, so bites of something sharp like this would probably be welcome during
the meal.

Dessert: What better time for a trifle? I'm thinking either a
butterscotch-banana trifle[2] or a caramelized orange trifle[3]. Might as
well get SOME use out of that trifle dish!

Beverages: I think that our local ciders are very good[4]; that's what I'd
serve with everything but dessert. (The vinegary kale would probably make
wine taste pretty bad.) If dessert is the caramelized orange trifle I'd
serve an orange muscat (like Essensia), or I'd get a bottle of Hungarian
Tokay to accompany the butterscotch-banana trifle.

It was surprisingly difficult to come up with dishes to fit into a menu with
chicken & dumplings! Any suggested menu changes?

Bob

[1] <http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/msg/b579244cb8cbce17>
[2]
<http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/desserts/quickly-does-it/butterscotch-and-banana-trifle-with-madeira.html>
[3]
<http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/caramelised-orange-trifle.html>
[4] <http://www.foxbarrel.com>

On Jan 29, 12:53*am, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:

> Amuse-Bouche: *The PlacerGrown harvest calendar says that rhubarb is
> supposed to be coming into season here in February. If that's the case, I'm
> thinking about making stewed rhubarb with butternut squash as the
> amuse-bouche. Otherwise it would be some other sweet-sour squash dish. This
> is just a single-bite course, so it has to pack a bit of a punch.

Hmm..I think the butternut squash would be wonderful just on it's own,
without the rhubarb... Paula Wolfert does a wonderful sweet-sour
butternut squash appeitzer that she says is a classic Sicilian dish.
It has always sounded wonderful to me. It it cold, I think..and
marinated for a few days in advance. I should look up the recipe: I
keep on meaning to make it myself...
>
> Salad: I want to use black radishes, but the application would depend on how
> woody they are. (Some are much more dry and woody than others. They're
> generally more like turnips than like red radishes.) If they're woody, then
> I'd make a salad with grated radish, grated carrot, chopped scallions,
> chopped cucumber, and sour cream. If they're not woody, I'd make a salad
> with sliced (peeled) black radish, apples, and escarole, dressed with cider
> vinegar, salt, and walnut oil.

You had me til the sour cream. On top of the chicken and dumplings
that you make which is very rich, the sour cream is a bit much. I
would want something acidy...to contrast. If you did the sour cream
in it, with the rich chicken and dumplings, plus the trifle, it would
be a carb coma inducing meal.
>
> Main Dish: Chicken and dumplings sound good to me, especially if it's cold
> and damp. I posted the Cook's Illustrated recipe here in 2005[1]; that's the
> one I would follow. Besides the chicken and dumplings themselves, the recipe
> contains celery, onions, carrots, and peas. (It's also got sherry and cream
> in there, which in my estimation elevate it to the status of "company"
> food.)
>

I have made this myself...

> Side Dish: Last spring, I bought some broccoli leaves at a farmer's market,
> and pickled them. Something like that would be great as a side dish, but I
> haven't seen broccoli leaves for at least four months. However, I think that
> kale would work equally well, so I'm tentatively planning on making
> pickled/marinated kale. The pickle is made by combining cider vinegar,
> sugar, salt, and water, bringing that to a boil and then pouring it (still
> boiling hot) into a jar over packed kale leaves. It has to sit for a few
> days before it's ready. The chicken & dumpling recipe is quite creamy and
> rich, so bites of something sharp like this would probably be welcome during
> the meal.

I think plain kale or one of the other cruciferous veggies would be
great...
>
> Dessert: What better time for a trifle? I'm thinking either a
> butterscotch-banana trifle[2] or a caramelized orange trifle[3]. Might as
> well get SOME use out of that trifle dish!

You trying to induce a carb coma? LOL.

Julia Child has a layered sliced oranges and blueberries dessert that
is served in a trifle bowl... I personally think a simple fruity
dessert would be better with the meal...but that is how my
sensibilities run...

> It was surprisingly difficult to come up with dishes to fit into a menu with
> chicken & dumplings! Any suggested menu changes?

Thinking on it...LOL.

Christine

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February,
> so I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities. This is just the first
> draft (and the whole thing is still in the hazy planning stages in any
> case):
>
>


Your menu makes my head hurt just reading about it, Bob. There's no
"relax and enjoy" to it.

Perhaps I'm just getting too old and lazy, but that sounds way too
ambitious for a single meal.

gloria p

I have a recipe for a lattice-topped rhubarb tart in which beaten egg whites
are incorporated into the rhubarb filling. The result is that they rise
through the lattice like a little meringue, making a very pretty
presentation.

I would suggest that as a dessert instead of a trifle, which seems too much
of a creamy thing to follow chicken and dumplings. (Although I like a good
trifle, I personally prefer fruit desserts that are at least slightly tart.)

And it would seem to me to be a better way to use rhubarb in this menu. The
rhubarb/butternut combo sounds like glop, to me. The sweet and sour Wolfert
recipe someone else suggested sounds much better.

I'm not a radish fan, so I can't comment on that course.

On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:49:16 -0700, gloria.p wrote:

> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>> There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February,
>> so I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities. This is just the first
>> draft (and the whole thing is still in the hazy planning stages in any
>> case):
>>
>>
>
> Your menu makes my head hurt just reading about it, Bob. There's no
> "relax and enjoy" to it.
>
> Perhaps I'm just getting too old and lazy, but that sounds way too
> ambitious for a single meal.
>
> gloria p

i'm with you, gloria, but you have to admire bob's industry. i wouldn't
mind sitting on my butt at his table.

your pal,
blake

On Jan 29, 10:49*am, "gloria.p" > wrote:
> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> > There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February,
> > so I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities. This is just the first
> > draft (and the whole thing is still in the hazy planning stages in any
> > case):
>
> Your menu makes my head hurt just reading about it, Bob. *There's no
> "relax and enjoy" to it.
>
> Perhaps I'm just getting too old and lazy, but that sounds way too
> ambitious for a single meal.

Nah it's just "keyboard cooking".....no sweat. LOL

On 2010-01-29, Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
> There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February, so
> I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities.

Are you sure that's "tentatively planning" as opposed to planning a tentative
dinner party. If the party is definite, sounds like you don't know
whether to plan for it or not. If the party is definite, are you
definitely planning for it, even though it may not take place, or jes
not sure if you should actually plan for it. Or!.... is the dinner
party taking place in a tent? I'm confused.

nb

"gloria.p" > wrote in message
...
> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>> There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February,
>> so I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities. This is just the first
>> draft (and the whole thing is still in the hazy planning stages in any
>> case):
>>
>
>
> Your menu makes my head hurt just reading about it, Bob. There's no
> "relax and enjoy" to it.
>
> Perhaps I'm just getting too old and lazy, but that sounds way too
> ambitious for a single meal.
>
> gloria p


I'm with you, Gloria. His menus always sound "ambitious". I'm sure they're
wonderful. But that's a lot of work for one meal.

Jill

On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:52:26 -0500, "jmcquown" >
wrote:

>"gloria.p" > wrote in message
...
>> Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>>> There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February,
>>> so I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities. This is just the first
>>> draft (and the whole thing is still in the hazy planning stages in any
>>> case):
>>>
>>
>>
>> Your menu makes my head hurt just reading about it, Bob. There's no
>> "relax and enjoy" to it.
>>
>> Perhaps I'm just getting too old and lazy, but that sounds way too
>> ambitious for a single meal.
>>
>> gloria p
>
>
>I'm with you, Gloria. His menus always sound "ambitious".
>Jill

His menus always sound like a combination of fantasy island and
insecurity complex.
Twilly-Sqwartz : http://www.imdb.com/media/rm580687872/nm0898199

Da Plane! Da Plane!


Ricardo Mandlebrot:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...andelbrot-2792

"jmcquown" wrote
> "gloria.p" wrote
>>Bob Terwilliger wrote:

>>> There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February,
>>> so I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities. This is just the first

>> Your menu makes my head hurt just reading about it, Bob. There's no
>> "relax and enjoy" to it.
>>
>> Perhaps I'm just getting too old and lazy, but that sounds way too
>> ambitious for a single meal.

> I'm with you, Gloria. His menus always sound "ambitious". I'm sure
> they're wonderful. But that's a lot of work for one meal.

Same feeling here though we do get a little fancy by other's standards at
times. It's all actually fancy 'sounding' but simple to make stuff.

Jay wrote:

>> Any suggested menu changes?
>
> The cider vinegar salad and pickled side dish both seem to be much of
> the same in terms of high acidity.

Good point! I've already put the kale into the pickling solution, so I'll
have to rethink the salad.


> I would keep the sides more wine friendly.

I'm sidestepping that by serving cider instead of wine.


> I like large fresh slices of tomato as a simple side dish to go with
> chicken and dumplings.

So do I, but only when tomatoes are in season.

Bob

Christine wrote:

> Hmm..I think the butternut squash would be wonderful just on it's own,
> without the rhubarb... Paula Wolfert does a wonderful sweet-sour butternut
> squash appeitzer that she says is a classic Sicilian dish. It has always
> sounded wonderful to me. It it cold, I think..and marinated for a few
> days in advance. I should look up the recipe: I keep on meaning to make
> it myself...

I don't have any Paula Wolfert books on Sicilian cooking. Want to post the
recipe? As it happened, rhubarb hasn't hit the farmers' market yet anyway,
so I'll have to come up with something different.



>> Salad: <snip> If they're woody, then I'd make a salad with grated radish,
>> grated carrot, chopped scallions, chopped cucumber, and sour cream. If
>> they're not woody, I'd make a salad with sliced (peeled) black radish,
>> apples, and escarole, dressed with cider vinegar, salt, and walnut oil.
>
> You had me til the sour cream. On top of the chicken and dumplings that
> you make which is very rich, the sour cream is a bit much. I would want
> something acidy...to contrast. If you did the sour cream in it, with the
> rich chicken and dumplings, plus the trifle, it would be a carb coma
> inducing meal.

The kale -- served alongside the chicken & dumplings -- *is* acidic. Also,
sour cream isn't high in carbs. Were you thinking of fat instead?

Turns out that the black radishes aren't all that woody, so I can make the
apple-radish salad quoted above instead. However, as jay pointed out, I
don't want to pile acid on top of acid either, and the kale is already in
the pickling brine, so I'll have to come up with a milder dressing for the
salad or ditch the salad altogether. I'm having a mental block coming up
with a salad dressing which is neither acidic (which would pile onto the
kale) nor creamy (which would pile onto the chicken & dumplings).



> Julia Child has a layered sliced oranges and blueberries dessert that is
> served in a trifle bowl... I personally think a simple fruity dessert
> would be better with the meal...but that is how my sensibilities run...

Simple fruit desserts call for top-quality in-season fruits. Blueberries
aren't in season. The only fruits currently in season here are mandarins,
kiwis, and pummelos.

Bob

Christine wrote:

> I have made Bob's chicken and dumplings before myself. I have the
> recipe in my files..and to my mind, it is very rich and filling. The
> menu as planned would almost be way too much with this rich dish.

When I told the prospective dinner guest that I wanted to make chicken &
dumplings, the response was "more vegetables, please." So I added a
vegetable amuse course, a vegetable salad course, a vegetable relish, and a
fruit-based dessert.

Bob

Gloria wrote:

> Your menu makes my head hurt just reading about it, Bob. There's no
> "relax and enjoy" to it.
>
> Perhaps I'm just getting too old and lazy, but that sounds way too
> ambitious for a single meal.

Are you speaking as a diner or as a cook?

Bob

notbob wrote:

>> There's a chance I'll be cooking for company sometime in early February,
>> so
>> I'm idly musing about the menu possibilities.
>
> Are you sure that's "tentatively planning" as opposed to planning a
> tentative
> dinner party. If the party is definite, sounds like you don't know
> whether to plan for it or not. If the party is definite, are you
> definitely planning for it, even though it may not take place, or jes
> not sure if you should actually plan for it. Or!.... is the dinner
> party taking place in a tent? I'm confused.

You and me both! The party is not definite yet; I'm just planning so that
I'm prepared in case it becomes definite. Lin's the one doing all the
correspondence with the potential dinner guest.

Bob

PVC wrote:

> Nah it's just "keyboard cooking".....no sweat. LOL

In this case, you might be right, since it hasn't been confirmed that the
dinner party is going to take place.

Bob

On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:45:37 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>PVC wrote:
>
>> Nah it's just "keyboard cooking".....no sweat. LOL
>
>In this case, you might be right, since it hasn't been confirmed that the
>dinner party is going to take place.
>
But you've already started the kale, so you're eating that for sure at
some point... right?


--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

In article >,
"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:

> Christine wrote:
>
> > I have made Bob's chicken and dumplings before myself. I have the
> > recipe in my files..and to my mind, it is very rich and filling. The
> > menu as planned would almost be way too much with this rich dish.
>
> When I told the prospective dinner guest that I wanted to make chicken &
> dumplings, the response was "more vegetables, please." So I added a
> vegetable amuse course, a vegetable salad course, a vegetable relish, and a
> fruit-based dessert.
>
> Bob

Baloney! I never said any such thing!

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ, running as fast as she can
http://web.me.com/barbschaller; Pirohy, January 25, 2010
The Pirohy Princess is in the Kitchen

Christine wrote:

>> Simple fruit desserts call for top-quality in-season fruits. Blueberries
>> aren't in season. The only fruits currently in season here are mandarins,
>> kiwis, and pummelos.
>
> And other citrus. I saw piles and piles of blood oranges, meyer lemons
> at the market...
>
> A dessert with blood oranges would be great, I would think. Something
> simple, not composed like the trifle. Maybe a sorbet, or a granita?
> Or maybe just sliced blood oranges fixed simply...sliced with some
> sort of sauce?

Maybe it's my Florida upbringing, but that seems too "everyday" for me.



> And pears and apples. And pineapples. Jacques Pepin has a few great
> desserts with those...one of which is caramelized pears... Another I
> just saw from him is pineapple wedges in caramel.. It uses orange
> juice...wonder how it would be with blood orange juice?

The quality of this year's apple crop has been mostly unacceptable to me,
and pears are not in season locally -- and of course pineapples are not even
CLOSE to being local. I'm trying to cook using as many local ingredients as
I can.

Bob

Christine wrote:

> Paula Wolfert does a wonderful sweet-sour butternut squash appeitzer that
> she says is a classic Sicilian dish. It has always sounded wonderful to
> me. It it cold, I think..and marinated for a few days in advance.

I found this recipe at
http://mysite.verizon.net/ldbails/Pumpkin/Sides/23.htm; it's attributed to
Wolfert, but it's not marinated for a few days.

Sweet and Sour Pumpkin
makes 6 servings

2 1/2 pounds pie pumpkin, peeled, halved and seeded
coarse salt
olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons mild white wine or rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 sprigs mint plus additional for garnish

Cut the pumpkin into 1/4-inch thick slices, then into 2 by 2-inch squares.
Sprinkle them with coarse salt and let stand a few minutes. Blot up any
surface moisture with paper towels.

Heat the olive oil in a 9-inch skillet, preferably nonstick, over
medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin in batches and fry until golden brown on
both sides, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Reduce the heat to medium. Pour off all but 4 tablespoons of the olive oil;
add the onions to the skillet. Sprinkle with sugar and cook until the onions
are soft and golden brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Add the
vinegar and water. Increase the heat to high and cook until the liquid is
reduced by half, stirring up any brown bits.

Mix the salt and pepper and season the pumpkin. Arrange them on a platter.
Pour the contents of the skillet over the top and sprinkle with torn mint
leaves. Serve at room temperature, adding more mint leaves.

Origin: Mostly Mediterranean, by Paula Wolfert

Might that be the Wolfert recipe you're talking about?

Bob

Jill wrote:

> I'm with you, Gloria. His menus always sound "ambitious". I'm sure they're
> wonderful. But that's a lot of work for one meal.

I like to teeter on the brink of disaster. The possibility of failure lends
excitement to the endeavor.

Bob
"a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
--Robert Browning

"Bob Terwilliger" wrote
> Christine wrote:

>> A dessert with blood oranges would be great, I would think. Something
>> simple, not composed like the trifle. Maybe a sorbet, or a granita?
>> Or maybe just sliced blood oranges fixed simply...sliced with some
>> sort of sauce?
>
> Maybe it's my Florida upbringing, but that seems too "everyday" for me.

> The quality of this year's apple crop has been mostly unacceptable to me,
> and pears are not in season locally -- and of course pineapples are not
> even
> CLOSE to being local. I'm trying to cook using as many local ingredients
> as I can.

So what fruit is local to you and in season?

"Bob Terwilliger" wrote
> Jill wrote:

>> I'm with you, Gloria. His menus always sound "ambitious". I'm sure
>> they're
>> wonderful. But that's a lot of work for one meal.
>
> I like to teeter on the brink of disaster. The possibility of failure
> lends
> excitement to the endeavor.

Grin, thats kinda fun too!

Hey, with all the snow here in Norfolk area, an impromptu 'dinner party' has
formed for today. Ours are simple things, but there are often fancy dishes
as well as pretty much just regular home cooking.

I made bagette dough in the breadmachine and it's rising nicely now in
loaves. Ghiselle is breaking out her home made german sausages and making
up her german mustard. I made a batch of asian blend mustard (which is oil,
not water based). Sam and Clara are bringing a spicy corned beef brisket
and their son John (age 12) is making 'fantasy jello' (sponge bob square
pants candies swimming in jello). I have a batch of thick butternut creamed
soup in the crockpot.

Sadie's feeling poorly so not coming over but her husband Art dropped off a
green cabbage and 1/3 of a red one. Ghiselle is going to make it up into a
sort of hot german cabbage slaw at my house (Mini cooking lesson). Ghiselle
will bring hot food over to Art and Sadie who are between our house and
her's.

John's excited to check out our Wii so I've got the sunroom/gameroom all
warmed up for the kids.

Simple fun.

On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:58:15 -0600, Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> In article >,
> "Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:
>
>> Christine wrote:
>>
>>> I have made Bob's chicken and dumplings before myself. I have the
>>> recipe in my files..and to my mind, it is very rich and filling. The
>>> menu as planned would almost be way too much with this rich dish.
>>
>> When I told the prospective dinner guest that I wanted to make chicken &
>> dumplings, the response was "more vegetables, please." So I added a
>> vegetable amuse course, a vegetable salad course, a vegetable relish, and a
>> fruit-based dessert.
>>
>> Bob
>
> Baloney! I never said any such thing!

now that may be the finest example of invitation-cadging i've ever seen.
my hat is off to you, madam. (unless you actually *are* a prospective
guest, in which case i'll use my hat to cover my red face.)

your pal,
blake

cshenk wrote:

> So what fruit is local to you and in season?

Citrus (Meyer lemons, various tangerines, and pummelos. Kumquats in a couple
weeks), apples (Gala seems most plentiful at the moment), and kiwis.

Bob

cshenk wrote:

> green cabbage and 1/3 of a red one. Ghiselle is going to make it up into a
> sort of hot german cabbage slaw at my house (Mini cooking lesson).

Please take notes and post them here!

Bob

blake replied to Barb:

> now that may be the finest example of invitation-cadging i've ever seen.
> my hat is off to you, madam. (unless you actually *are* a prospective
> guest, in which case i'll use my hat to cover my red face.)

If you both want to hop on a plane and head this way, I can make sure
there's plenty of food. Today was gorgeous, with temperatures in the
mid-sixties and a pleasant amount of sunshine. Lin's going to grill lamb
chops tonight.

Bob

"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> cshenk wrote:
>
>> green cabbage and 1/3 of a red one. Ghiselle is going to make it up into
>> a sort of hot german cabbage slaw at my house (Mini cooking lesson).
>
> Please take notes and post them here!

Now ya tell me! Everyone treked home before the hard freeze got too bad.

We started with the butternut squash soup. Just a bit of a noshe there.

Then Ghiselle, grabbed my bacon grease, some of the sweet brown vinegar, and
riffled my spices (grin). I was busy setting the table mostly but she
taught John (age 12) how to cut cabbage up the easy way. It was a fairly
traditional german hot slaw with a delicate mustard/cardamom touch and heart
warming fatty in a good way.

I did an impromptu tradtional southern white gravy with some of the sausage
grease and folks used it to dip the bagette bread after cutting little bites
of sausage and making mini-samwiches. The asian mustard went really nicely
with the brisket cut to thin slivers and samwhiched into the bread with a
bite of the hot slaw.

We finished off with Sponge-bob square pants jello which was a hoot!

Simple fun. Not so fancy as what you do.

In article >,
blake murphy > wrote:

> On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:58:15 -0600, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > Baloney! I never said any such thing!
>
> now that may be the finest example of invitation-cadging i've ever
> seen. my hat is off to you, madam. (unless you actually *are* a
> prospective guest, in which case i'll use my hat to cover my red
> face.)

>
> your pal,
> blake

Thenkyew. Thenkyew.

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller; Pirohy, January 25, 2010
The Pirohy Princess is in the Kitchen

cshenk wrote:

> Then Ghiselle, grabbed my bacon grease, some of the sweet brown vinegar,
> and riffled my spices (grin). I was busy setting the table mostly but she
> taught John (age 12) how to cut cabbage up the easy way. It was a fairly
> traditional german hot slaw with a delicate mustard/cardamom touch and
> heart warming fatty in a good way.
>
> I did an impromptu tradtional southern white gravy with some of the
> sausage grease and folks used it to dip the bagette bread after cutting
> little bites of sausage and making mini-samwiches. The asian mustard went
> really nicely with the brisket cut to thin slivers and samwhiched into the
> bread with a bite of the hot slaw.
>
> We finished off with Sponge-bob square pants jello which was a hoot!
>
> Simple fun. Not so fancy as what you do.

Hey, I've never made Jell-O *that* fancy! Sounds like a great time was had
by all. I hope everybody's cozy by now!

Bob

"Bob Terwilliger" wrote
> cshenk wrote:
>
>> Then Ghiselle, grabbed my bacon grease, some of the sweet brown vinegar,
>> and riffled my spices (grin). I was busy setting the table mostly but
>> she taught John (age 12) how to cut cabbage up the easy way. It was a
>> fairly traditional german hot slaw with a delicate mustard/cardamom touch
>> and heart warming fatty in a good way.

I emailed her for the recipe. She sent this back:
--- begin quote

4 tb Bacon drippings, from Carol's jar
about 1/2 cup of onion (Thanks for having a sweet one Carol!)
3 cups shredded up green cabbage and 2 cups of red/purple shredded cabbage
3 TB (I guess, I splashed in what looked right) of that sweet brown vinegar
you have
3 TB of my own mustard (Carol's is too hot for this)
I forgot what I used in spices for how much but 'to taste' I used caraway,
cardamom and some of your white pepper

First as you saw me make up the sausage in the big cast iron pan (I am
stealing that one day, bet on it). While that cooked up I showed that sweet
young man John how to chop cabbage easy and he did all of it. You came over
to say 'save that fat' from the sausage so we did. I added the bacon fat
back to the hot pan then added the vinegar as it melted and the spices and
mustard. Stirred a bit then added the onion and cooked to golden, then
added the cabbage and cooked til it was all melted together but still crispy
at the stem parts for interest. Traditional hot german slaw adds some sugar
but your sweet vinegar and my sweeter mild mustard had enough. Tell your
recipe friends hello
----end quote

(Hope the formatting comes over ok)

I don't have her mustard recipe but it's somewhat thin (by my standards)
definately sweet and mild. I believe it's a cooked recipe from the milder
character and it's water/vinegar based.

I agree that her's suited the dish better than mine would have. Her's is
more a slather it on sort while mine you treat almost like Wasabi.

>> I did an impromptu tradtional southern white gravy with some of the
>> sausage grease and folks used it to dip the bagette bread after cutting
>> little bites of sausage and making mini-samwiches. The asian mustard
>> went really nicely with the brisket cut to thin slivers and samwhiched
>> into the bread with a bite of the hot slaw.
>>
>> We finished off with Sponge-bob square pants jello which was a hoot!
>>
>> Simple fun. Not so fancy as what you do.
>
> Hey, I've never made Jell-O *that* fancy! Sounds like a great time was had
> by all. I hope everybody's cozy by now!

All cosy! It's still 6 inches of snow with slush on all unploughed roads.
It's hitting close to 39 today and the main highways have been cleared with
our minimal snow gear. Side roads like mine are still 4 inches deep just
now in slush with ice under it. I'm guesssing it will melt off enough to
get to work tomorrow though they will probably have a 2 hour delay. Can't
tell yet.

Sadie emailed our little group that she and Art loved the meals we sent back
with Ghiselle. For me, I ended up making 6 more loaves of bread for various
folks. I'm now officially out of all white flour so told folks if they want
more, they gotta bring me the flour to make it. I think the talley was 14
loaves? Plus the bagettes which didnt rise as much as i hoped, but folks
liked their chewy texture.

Yeah, the jello was cool! He made it in his Mom's round Bundt pan. It was
a perfect shape and he'd waited til it was semi-solid then added little
sponge-bob related 'gummy bear type' candies upside down so when you flipped
it out of the mold, they were right side up (mostly, some swam to the side).
;-)

"Stu" wrote
> "cshenk" wrote:
"Bob Terwilliger" wrote

>>>> a sort of hot german cabbage slaw at my house (Mini cooking lesson).
>>>
>>> Please take notes and post them here!

>>Now ya tell me! Everyone treked home before the hard freeze got too bad.

Heheh as you see, she emailed me her recipe.

>>Simple fun. Not so fancy as what you do.

> As long as everyone enjoyed the food and had a good time who really
> cares if it's not someones cup of tea, it's your cuppa.

Grin, I'm not worried about it. I am fascinated by the fancy ones some
folks plan up, but that takes time and isnt the impromptu sort of thing we
did and do often here. Being winter, it's not as often. Come
spring/summer/fall you'll see me sprinkle notes when it occurs to me about
various ones. In good weather, we gather most weekends, usually at my place
because i have the right 'party setting' porch and such.

Call'em pretty much a combo of 'cook out' and 'cook in with folks not into
newsgroups'.

Now and again, we do go fairly fancy but we have to be careful as the
finances of the group are quite different (as are the cooking skills) and we
are *friends* so don't want to stress anyone out. If you see lobster here
at our parties, it's because they have a friend who gets local ones off his
dock and gifted a few ;-) Crabs though, yeah. They beg to crawl onto your
line with old smelly chicken bits here. Our local ones are smallish and the
not fished much commercially 'blue crabs' so we might have a party with
30-40 of them in the right season. I gather they are rare to see outside
our area and quite pricy?

On Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:10:46 -0800, Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> blake replied to Barb:
>
>> now that may be the finest example of invitation-cadging i've ever seen.
>> my hat is off to you, madam. (unless you actually *are* a prospective
>> guest, in which case i'll use my hat to cover my red face.)
>
> If you both want to hop on a plane and head this way, I can make sure
> there's plenty of food. Today was gorgeous, with temperatures in the
> mid-sixties and a pleasant amount of sunshine. Lin's going to grill lamb
> chops tonight.
>
> Bob

i would admire to eat at your table, bob, but it might take a teleportation
device to make it happen.

your pal,
blake

cshenk wrote:

>>> Then Ghiselle, grabbed my bacon grease, some of the sweet brown vinegar,
>>> and riffled my spices (grin). I was busy setting the table mostly but
>>> she taught John (age 12) how to cut cabbage up the easy way. It was a
>>> fairly traditional german hot slaw with a delicate mustard/cardamom
>>> touch and heart warming fatty in a good way.
>
> I emailed her for the recipe. She sent this back:
> --- begin quote
>
> 4 tb Bacon drippings, from Carol's jar
> about 1/2 cup of onion (Thanks for having a sweet one Carol!)
> 3 cups shredded up green cabbage and 2 cups of red/purple shredded cabbage
> 3 TB (I guess, I splashed in what looked right) of that sweet brown
> vinegar you have
> 3 TB of my own mustard (Carol's is too hot for this)
> I forgot what I used in spices for how much but 'to taste' I used caraway,
> cardamom and some of your white pepper
>
> First as you saw me make up the sausage in the big cast iron pan (I am
> stealing that one day, bet on it). While that cooked up I showed that
> sweet young man John how to chop cabbage easy and he did all of it. You
> came over to say 'save that fat' from the sausage so we did. I added the
> bacon fat back to the hot pan then added the vinegar as it melted and the
> spices and mustard. Stirred a bit then added the onion and cooked to
> golden, then added the cabbage and cooked til it was all melted together
> but still crispy at the stem parts for interest. Traditional hot german
> slaw adds some sugar but your sweet vinegar and my sweeter mild mustard
> had enough. Tell your recipe friends hello
> ----end quote

What a nice thing to send! The recipe sounds very interesting; I'll have to
try it out sometime. Thanks very much, both to you and Ghiselle!

Bob

"Bob Terwilliger" wrote
> cshenk wrote:
>
>>>> Then Ghiselle, grabbed my bacon grease, some of the sweet brown
>>>> vinegar,
>>>> and riffled my spices (grin). I was busy setting the table mostly but
>>>> she taught John (age 12) how to cut cabbage up the easy way. It was a
>>>> fairly traditional german hot slaw with a delicate mustard/cardamom
>>>> touch and heart warming fatty in a good way.
>>
>> I emailed her for the recipe. She sent this back:
>> --- begin quote
>>
>> 4 tb Bacon drippings, from Carol's jar
>> about 1/2 cup of onion (Thanks for having a sweet one Carol!)
>> 3 cups shredded up green cabbage and 2 cups of red/purple shredded
>> cabbage
>> 3 TB (I guess, I splashed in what looked right) of that sweet brown
>> vinegar you have
>> 3 TB of my own mustard (Carol's is too hot for this)
>> I forgot what I used in spices for how much but 'to taste' I used
>> caraway,
>> cardamom and some of your white pepper
>>
>> First as you saw me make up the sausage in the big cast iron pan (I am
>> stealing that one day, bet on it). While that cooked up I showed that
>> sweet young man John how to chop cabbage easy and he did all of it. You
>> came over to say 'save that fat' from the sausage so we did. I added the
>> bacon fat back to the hot pan then added the vinegar as it melted and the
>> spices and mustard. Stirred a bit then added the onion and cooked to
>> golden, then added the cabbage and cooked til it was all melted together
>> but still crispy at the stem parts for interest. Traditional hot german
>> slaw adds some sugar but your sweet vinegar and my sweeter mild mustard
>> had enough. Tell your recipe friends hello
>> ----end quote
>
> What a nice thing to send! The recipe sounds very interesting; I'll have
> to
> try it out sometime. Thanks very much, both to you and Ghiselle!

Hehe the vinegar is a Datu Puti brand, 'pure cane vinegar'. I think, made
off sugar canes?

Her cooking always shines, but this made this dish shine better than normal.
Just one of my various odd cooking things in the cabinet and she (and the
others) know when cooking here at my house, riffle the cabinets for what you
need.

Anyways, quiet here today. Mostly just watching the snow melt. Still a
goodly 7 inches deep in the yard and we can see where the insulation is bad
in one another's roofs as the melt off makes some bare spots.